I think it comes down to the fact that the Sequoia has always been a NA-only product and never designed/built to the same standard as the global Land Cruiser station wagon. We know this from the fact that the Sequoia weighs almost the same as the LC300 Hybrid despite being much bigger, and also that it starts at a relatively low price. These weight and cost savings come from places we don't see. LX customers want the highest build quality of any TMC product period, so a "Lexus Sequoia" or "Land Cruiser LWB" has always been an idea that works in theory but may or may not be acceptable for real customers.Is there is some reason why Lexus can't have both? For whatever reason when it comes to discussion about Lexus models its "either-or" argument that very often rises as an issue. What premium Germans are doing better than anyone else is they have universal portfolio and they bend markets according to their product while everyone else adjusts to the market with their cars. China L midsize sedans are exception to this rule but Lexus has a lot of models that are unique to one market and absent in others.
Altered GMC Yukons with four front facing chairs are very popular in Central and South Americas with particular clientele. They all come from Mexico as used car imports. While a flagship mini van might not work in Americas big ass extended LX for sure would.
IMO the real path forward is keeping the BOF SWB LX/LC (and delete the VIP trim, make it the offroad flagship) while developing a Unibody, IRS, LWB "LX-L/Grand LC", that platform could also become the basis for a real Century flagship (the current TX-based Century is still too small in the rear). So the lineup becomes:
TX - mainstream 3-row people mover SUV
GX - offroad-oriented SUV with optional 3-row seating
LX - maximum offroad performance, G-wagen competitor (maybe only keep 2-row option)
LX-L/LTX - flagship 3-row road-oriented SUV, with optional 2-row VIP seating
Century - most luxurious version of the LX-L with handcrafted interior
Apparently Toyota doesn't like the idea and instead decided to make a 2-row BEV Land Cruiser SE, a product that is guaranteed to flop. That budget would be much better spent on making the Grand LC/LX-L/Century triplet, all sharing the same platform.












